Definition

Noun: A specially equipped room within a hospital or surgical center where surgical operations are performed. It is designed to be a sterile environment to minimize the risk of infection.

Usage

The term "operating theatre" is used to refer to the specific location where surgeons, anesthetists, nurses, and other medical staff carry out surgical procedures on patients. It is synonymous with "operating room."

Examples

• The patient was wheeled into the operating theatre for emergency surgery.
• Strict protocols govern who may enter the operating theatre.
• The new hospital wing features ten state-of-the-art operating theatres.

Advanced Usage

• "to be taken to theatre": A common medical shorthand meaning a patient is being taken to the operating room for surgery.
  • The consultant said the patient needs to be taken to theatre immediately.

Variants and Related Words

• Operating room (OR) (n): The more common term in American English, identical in meaning to "operating theatre."
• Surgical suite (n): A broader term that can include the operating room along with adjacent sterile preparation and scrub areas.
• Theatre (n, medical context): In British medical jargon, "theatre" alone is often used to mean the operating theatre.
  • The surgeon is already in theatre.

Synonyms

• Surgery (when referring to the room, e.g., "in surgery")
• Operating suite
• Operating theater (alternative spelling)

Related Phrases

• Theatre staff: The team of medical professionals working in the operating theatre.
• Theatre nurse: A nurse specially trained to assist in surgical operations.
• Theatre list: The schedule of surgical procedures planned for an operating theatre.

Noun

1. a room in a hospital equipped for the performance of surgical operations
   • great care is taken to keep the operating rooms aseptic